Insole-trimming machine.



W. H. HOOPER. INSOLEATRIMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEZO, 1904.

1,@9 7,633@ Patented May 26, 1914.

4 SHEETSSHBET 1.

luiinesses jrLvenior: 7617M LUilLz'am flfloo ver fi f byZ W7Mzfi Z/L4 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

W. H. HOOPER.

INSOLE TRIMMING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIONIILED JUNE 20, 1904.

Patented May 26, 1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2,

T l p wa linekss as Inventor fimwfigmmw ll/fillzam 111101 181 5M3; y M efliiys.

col: mam PLANOGRAPH cO.,\\'AsmNu'rcN. 01.4

W. H. HOOPER.

INSOLE TRIMMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED- JUNE 20, 1904.

1,097,633. Patented May 26,1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3 54 F ,4 i 55 a wii'netsses Izzvenior:

wlliamflfloqaer.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON, D. C

W. H. HOOPER.

INSOLE TRIMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED JUNE20, 1904.

Patented May 26, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wiinel sseks TlNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTCE.

WILLIAM H. HOGZPER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 911 NEW JERSEY.

INSOLE-TRIMMING MACHINE.

earns-is.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. Hoornn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Tnsole -Trimming Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to cutting machines and particularly to such as are adapted to cut out and trim insoles for shoes according to a suitable pattern, to which the material may be attached if desired.

The aim of the invention is to provide a machine which not only shall trim the material neatly and in exact coincidence with the pattern, but also one whose speed of opera tion shall be limited only by the capacity of the operator.

The invention further aims to provide suitable means for sharpening and cleansing the cutting member of the machine.

The character and scope of the invention will be further apparent from a description of one particular embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the ma chine; Fig. 2 is an end elevation to the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar elevation to the left of Fig. 1; Fig. 1 is a section on line 1-1, Fig. 2; and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are views of details hereinafter described.

In the particular embodiment of my invention herein selected for illustration, the machine comprises a base 1 carrying a pair of standards 2, constituting a suitable frame. A work-support or table 3 may be mounted upon the frame in any desired manner, as by bolting the same to one of the standards 2, said table being provided with a suitable opening 1 through which passes a cutting element in the form of a band knife 5. The opening 4 in the work-support 3 may, if desired, connect with the periphery thereof by means of a slot 6; and upon either side of the opening are preferably mounted adjustable plates 7 and 8, the former being slightly undercut at its edge adjacent the knife 5, as shown at 9 Fig. 5, While the plate 8 is beveled downwardly from the top, as at 10 Fig. 5. By this construction the band knife 5 and the undercut edge 9 of the plate 7 afford a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed .1 une 20, 1904.

Patented May 26, 1914:.

Serial No. 213,291.

pair of cooperating cutting edges which effectually and cleanly sever the material operated upon. The downwardly beveled portion 10 of the plate 8 serves to permit the easy passage of the brazed portion by which the ends of the band knife are usually united; while at the same time the plate 8 holds the knife 5 sufficiently close to the cutting edge 9 to insure thorough severing action. The plates 7 and 8 are made adjustable with reference to the opening 1 by means of set screws 11 and 12, which pass through suitable openings in the work-support 3.

The band knife 5 may be mounted and operated in any suitable manner, but as here shown is carried by a pair of band wheels or pulleys 13 and 14:, which are mounted re spectively upon shafts 15 and 16 suitably journaled in the supports 2. To properly tension the band knife, the upper shaft 15, as indicated in Figs. 9. and 3, is mounted in journal boxes 17, which may be vertically adjusted in slots 18 by means of suitable thumb screws 19, passing through the threaded plates 20. The band wheels 13 and 1 1 may, if desired, be provided with peripheral pads or bearing cushions upon which said knife 5 may be run to protect the latter from contact with the hard. metal peripheries of the wheels, in order that the life of the knife may be preserved for a longer period. The band wheels 13 and 14 may be actuated in any desired and convenient manner, but as here shown a driving pulley 21, actuated from any suitable source of power through a belt 22, is mounted upon the extremity of the shaft 16 opposite the band wheel 1 1.

Suitably mounted upon a convenient portion of the machine is an arm 28 which carries an adjustable, downwardly projecting work guide 524, the lower end of which is provided with a friction roll 25, against which the pattern may be held during the cutting operation. The guide 2 1 normally lies adjacent and in line with the cutting edge of the band knife 5. As shown in Fig. 2, the work-support or table 3 is preferably tilted forward at a slight angle to the knife 5 and guide 24; in order that only the edge of the pattern adjacent the sole fabric will come in contact with the knife, thus insuring a clean, accuratecut. Preferably formed integrally with the guide 24: is a suitable knife guard 26, which is located normally in front of the knife and serves to prevent the fingers of the operator from coming in contact with the latter during the cutting or trimming operation. The work holder or pattern a for carrying the material b may be of any desired construction. The form herein selected for illustration, however, is especially adapted for cutting so-called lipped insoles or those provided with a molded lip extending around the shank and fore part for a short distance within the periphery thereof. For this pur pose, the work holder is provided with a groove a (see Fig. 7) to receive the lip Z) of the insole, and if desired, the holder or pattern a may be employed as a member of the mold in which the lip b nay be formed. The engagement of the lip I) with the groove (4 effectually prevents any lateral movement of the insole with respect to the work holder or pattern during the cutting operation.

In order to sharpen the band knife 5 from time to time as may be necessary, suitable grinding mechanism is provided, consisting in this instance of a small emery wheel 27, attached to a spindle 28, mounted in the lugs 29 of a bracket 30, which may be attached adjustably to any convenient portion of the machine frame. The spindle 28 is provided with a band wheel or pulley 31 which may be actuated in any suitable manner, as by a belt 32 extending from a pulley 33 on the shaft 16 and over guide pulleys 34, which in turn are mounted upon a short stud 35 projecting from a convenient portion of the machine. Surrounding the spindle 28 and located between the lugs 29, is a coiled spring 36 which is seated against the lug 29 nearest the wheel 27, and at its opposite extremity presses against a collar 37 on the spindle 28, thereby to draw the grinding wheel 27 back and out of contact with the band knife 5. Adjacent the guide pulleys 34 upon the lefthand side of the machine, and bearing upon the belt 32, is a tightening pulley or wheel 38, which may be mounted in any desired manner, as upon the swinging arm 39, pivoted at 40 upon the standard 2 and provided with a handle 41. The spindle 28 is placed at such an angle to the direction of travel of the belt that when the latter is tightened and thereby straightened by means of the tightener wheel 38, the pulley 31, together with the spindle 28, is moved in opposition to the spring 36 to press the grinding wheel 27 against the cutting edge of the rapidly moving knife 5, whereby the latter is effectually sharpened.

In order to cleanse the knife of foreign material which may adhere thereto, such as the cement by which the layers or plies of the insole fabric may be united, a cleansing pad &2 of any desired construction is provided, the pad in this instance being held about the knife by a suitable bracket e3 attached to a convenient portion as to one of the supports 2 of the machine frame.

In operating the machine, the sole fabric together with the pattern to which it is to be cut are laid upon the work-support or table 3 and an incision is made in the fabric until the knife reaches the periphery of the pattern and the pattern at the same time contacts with the friction wheel 25 upon the guide 24. The operator then turns the pattern and fabric against the guide and the knife edge until the fabric is severed around the entire periphery of the pattern. The guide 24 prevents the knife from cutting into the pattern and also forms a convenient abutment against which the operator may hold the pattern without danger of forcing the knife blade away from the cutting edge 9 of the plate 7.

It is obvious that where, as in the particular machine described, the pattern is turned by hand, inasmuch as the knife may be driven at any desired speed, irrespective of the speed at which the pattern is moved, the rate at which work may be performed upon the machine will be governed solely by the capacity of the operator; thus affording considerable advantage over the machines heretofore employed for this purpose in which a positively driven feed wheel operates at a given speed in conjunction with a rotary cutter and in which consequently the rate at which the work may be turned out is governed by the speed of the machine. My invention, however, is not restricted to a manual feed of the work.

Many changes may be made in the details and relative arrangement of parts of the machine without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim 1. In a machine for trimming parts of a boot or shoe, the combination of a band knife, and a work support inclined with relation to the path of travel of the band knife, said work support having an edge undercut from the upper surface of the table to define the cutting point and an edge un dercut from the lower face thereof.

2. In a machine for trimming parts of a boot or shoe, the combination of a band knife, means for sustaining and operating the knife, a work guide extending in line with the cutting edge of the knife, and a roll carried by the guide forming a work bearing adjacent the acting ed 'e of the knife.

3. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, means for sustaining and operating the knife, a rotary work guide adjacent the cutting edge of the knife, and a guard adjacent the rotary work guide.

4. In a machine for trimming parts of Cir boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a work support having a surface inclined to the path of travel of the knife where it acts on the material to be cut, a rotary guide above the work support, and a guard adjacent the rotary guide and extending along the band knife.

5. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife having a supporting frame and operating means, a work support, a work guide adjacent the cutting edge of the band knife, and a work guard adjacent said work guide and extending therefrom.

6. In a machine for trimming parts of a boot or shoe, the combination of a band knife, a work support having an inclined top, a guide for the work disposed above the inclined top of the work support and adjacent the cutting edge of the band knife, and a guard extending along the knife above the inclined top of the work support, said guide and said guard being secured to the machine frame.

7. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a work support having an inclined top, and a work guide projecting in front of and substantially in line with the cut-ting edge of the knife and being arranged to bear against the work and permit the material which is to be trimmed off to project beyond the knife and guide.

8. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a work support having an inclined top, a part on said work support having an edge beveled with respect to the surface of the work support and adjacent the band knife and against which the band knife may bear as it is pressed by the work, and a guard extending about the band knife and in the direction of the band knife adjacent the work.

9. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a work support having an inclined top, a part on said work support having a beveled edge adjacent the band knife and against which the band knife may bear as it is pressed by the work, and a work guide projecting in line with the cutting edge of the knife and arranged to bear against the work and permit the material which is to be trimmed off to project beyond the knife and guide.

10. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife having a supporting frame and operative means, a work support having an inclined top and provided with a beveled edge undercut from the upper surface and a beveled edge undercut from the lower surface thereof, and means for adjusting the opening between said beveled edges.

11. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife having a supporting frame and operative means, a work support having an inclined top and provided with a part having a beveled or inclined edge adjacent the band knife, means for adjusting the said part toward and from the knife, a work guide, and a knife guard adjacent the band knife.

12. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a supporting frame and operating means for said knife, a rotary work guide disposed to engage the work adjacent the cutting point, and protecting means for the knife disposed above and below the cutting or active point.

13. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, a supporting frame and operating means for said knife, a stationary part having an inclined top and with reference to which the knife moves, a member having a beveled edge adjacent the knife and sup ported by said stationary part, and a guard for said band knife extending lengthwise of the band knife.

14:. In a machine for trimming parts of boots and shoes, the combination of a band knife, operating means therefor, a stationary part having an inclined top surface with reference to which the knife moves, a work guide adjacent the band knife, means for supporting said guide from the machine frame, and a knife guard extending lengthwise of the knife.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. IIOOPER.

Witnesses S. M. PUacELL, NATALIE TOWARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1). 0. 

